How to pick a potential product or a hit product? How can distributors develop a discerning eye? It's not difficult! Just remember the following ten steps. (This discussion only covers distributors of alcoholic beverages and drinks in the FMCG sector.) First, know yourself. Distributors must act according to their capabilities when accepting new products. Consider whether you have surplus funds, channels, warehouse space, delivery capacity, manpower, social connections, market reputation, etc. Is your scale at a bottleneck? Do you have ambitions for further growth? Is there still large market space locally? Can you operate in larger regions or more categories? Does your main business rely entirely on the manufacturer or yourself? The most important foundation for all operational decisions of a distributor is to know yourself clearly and understand your capability boundaries. "He who knows himself is wise; he who conquers himself is strong." If funds, channels, warehouse, delivery, and manpower are insufficient to support the distributor's ambitions, reckless or blind expansion will only lead to bitter consequences. Second, market conditions. Distributors should understand the local geography, permanent population size, population composition, ethnic customs, consumption habits, channel structure, number of manufacturers and approximate performance scale, number of personnel from each manufacturer, the best channel customers for each brand, and undeveloped channel customers. For example, Jianlibao's Fifth Season guava juice is basically a regional flavor in South China, especially Guangdong. Initially launched nationwide, it only thrived in Guangdong. In 2006, Uni-President and Master Kong followed suit with guava juice, hastily pushing it to most markets, but it went unnoticed. Wanglaoji herbal tea also took five or six years to gain market acceptance in the north. Therefore, when selecting new products, distributors should fully consider local market conditions and try not to choose products that do not fit the local market. Third, manufacturer support. Manufacturer support includes policy support, personnel support, resource support, expense support, and financial support. Policy support refers to the manufacturer's sales policy: exclusive distribution or channel distribution, appropriate sales performance and rebates, product knowledge training, and market guidance. Personnel support refers to the manufacturer's sales staff structure and organization. Resource support includes freezers, materials, media placement, and signboard production. Expense support covers costs for market development and maintenance, such as distribution fees, sample fees, gift fees, tasting fees, venue rental fees, display fees, entry fees, festival fees, and discount fees. Financial support refers to whether the manufacturer provides special payment terms, how and when expenses are paid, and the degree of financial cooperation from the manufacturer. Fourth, product selling points. To be precise, it should be the unique selling proposition (USP). Any new product without a prominent selling point cannot have a foothold in the market. Product taste is the most basic element of a selling point. A good product must first have good taste, especially for products adopting a "mass-market price" strategy. The taste must appeal to the general public, at least meet their expectations and needs; otherwise, the selling point cannot be justified. The unique selling proposition can also be considered from packaging and specification differentiation. What is different about the product's category and brand proposition? What are the differences from similar products? Does the product price have a comparative advantage? If there are no similar products, does the price have a support point? Can consumers accept this price? Is there differentiation in sales channels? Fifth, product profit. Profit is certainly an important reason for distributors to choose new products. The level of profit depends on the manufacturer's strength and its sales performance in the local market. It's not that high-profit products can be done and low-profit products cannot. It depends on the overall product mix. Product profit sometimes should not only look at absolute value but also gross margin. A product priced at 100 yuan with a gross profit of 5 yuan versus a product priced at 30 yuan with a gross profit of 2 yuan: the absolute gross profit of the 100 yuan product is higher, but the 30 yuan product actually contributes a higher gross margin. Product gross profit includes not only the distribution gross profit but also channel gross profit and distributor gross profit. Of course, these are only static gross profits. Product gross profit is also closely related to product sell-through, expense spending, logistics delivery speed, operational efficiency, and expansion of operational channels and regions. Sixth, product sell-through. Product sell-through is the key to product survival. Sell-through = distribution rate × recommendation rate × visit rate × merchandising × promotion × customer relationship Distribution rate is the product's visibility in the market. Through distribution rate, you create market atmosphere and increase opportunities for consumers to see the product. The fundamental purpose of marketing is to create momentum; if momentum is strong, you get twice the result with half the effort. The level of terminal distribution rate determines the product's visibility in the market and its market momentum. Recommendation rate refers to the quality of recommendations from sales terminals. By building core stores, you can fully leverage their enthusiasm for recommending new products, create a demonstration effect, establish product consumption influence, and build confidence among other follower terminals, thereby driving sales at other terminals. Core stores are terminals with strong new product recommendation ability, larger scale, longer operating history, and influence over other terminals and consumers. Focus resources, attack key points, and rely on these terminals' recommendations to quickly drive product sell-through. Visit rate is not just about frequency; more importantly, it's about the quality and effectiveness of visits. The main value of terminal visits is to clarify the purpose of the visit, achieve the desired effect, discover problems, and solve them. Merchandising mainly creates an atmosphere for product sell-through, induces consumers, and changes their acceptance psychology. Merchandising comes from three levels: first, product display (stack displays, end-cap displays, special-shaped displays, etc., with supporting materials); second, strong atmosphere; third, route or area merchandising. Promotion is a core component of product sell-through. Target core consumer groups and core consumption venues, combine promotion, experience, and tasting to push new product sales and let consumers quickly accept the product. Promotion is generally divided into channel promotion and consumer promotion. Building customer relationships is not about the number of visits but about bringing actual value to terminal customers. Efficient customer relationships are not just about material benefits but about customers recognizing the value of your existence. Seventh, operation mode. Does the manufacturer launch the new product through direct operation or distributor operation? Is it a single-region trial or a full launch? Is it exclusive operation in the region or separate channel operation? Is it led by the manufacturer's sales team or the distributor? Is it single-channel operation or full-channel operation? Is it a single model or a composite model? Different manufacturer approaches place the distributor in different positions in the product value chain. The product's operation mode determines the size of the distributor's investment in funds, warehousing, personnel, resources, etc. Eighth, launch channels. What are the launch channels for the product? Special channels, supermarkets, wholesale markets, or tobacco and liquor stores? When a product first enters the market, choosing the channel is of utmost importance. It is important to choose the appropriate channel based on the product's selling points. Uni-President's 100% tomato juice was launched at a retail price of 6 yuan per can. At that time, Uni-President chose to launch it across all channels in South China, but the result was product stagnation and massive returns from channel customers. After 2008, Uni-President adjusted the launch channels for tomato juice, mainly focusing on KA and special channels. Although the product is still not a success to this day, it has gained a fixed consumer base and stable sales. Ninth, successful cases. If a product has no successful market or channel, the risk for distributors is high. Successful cases are models and replicable hope. How a distributor operates a new product is not necessarily entirely based on their own inherent business model; they must refer to the manufacturer's operations and channel management. How does the manufacturer operate in successful markets? How did the product succeed? Which aspects can distributors replicate? Which aspects should distributors strengthen? What should they learn? Successful cases give distributors a reason they cannot refuse. Tenth, market investigation. On-site investigation of the company and product operations is the final step. What to investigate? Investigate company qualifications, strength, production, leadership team, company goals, financial capability, transportation capability, local market operation status, and the best-performing stores. In addition, investigate details! No matter how good the company's publicity is, if the details are not good, the manufacturer has no future. Material stacking, garbage disposal, cleanliness in various places, warehouse in/out management, business behavior, daily meeting systems, etc., all reflect the manufacturer's determination and capability. Because details determine success or failure! Below is a product selection table based on the above ten items. The table has ten items, each with a score allocated by importance, totaling 100 points. If a product scores above 60, distributors can consider it. The higher the score, the higher the possibility of the product becoming a hit. Of course, these are not absolute. What is provided here is a relatively scientific set of considerations based on one's own situation, to minimize irrational factors in judging a product's success. Whether to choose a new product, besides project considerations, the more important thing is to make up your mind. -END- Content Selection Reply with the following keywords to search and read related articles: Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Distributor Game, Product Stagnation, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing Deals, Market Visit Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agency Products, Cross-region Sales, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, Sales Novice, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Franchise Recruitment, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Inventory Pressure, Festivals, Distributor Cost Control, Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Debriefing, Debriefing Report.